Networking success stories
Updated 2024-05-21. Originally published 2010-11-01 on VocationVillage.com
Few things cause career coaching clients to shudder more than the dreaded networking advice they so often hear. Many people think of networking as attendance at cheesy events like miserable happy hours where you cozy up to strangers, hoping they will recommend you to all their employed and well-connected friends.
Fortunately, my advice about networking involves more practical recommendations than you might expect. The goal of networking is to determine how to connect gracefully with others in ways that are genuinely beneficial for both you and the people with whom you hope to build professional relationships. Because networking success stories are much more convincing than vague advice, I asked the people below to share their experiences.
These stories feature people who successfully facilitated a transition from one career path to another and, in one case, from one continent to another. Their experiences and successes may inspire you to follow their examples.
Networking Success Story #1: Anne Baker - From Internet Economy to Capitol Hill
Anne Baker enjoyed a thriving career in the internet economy during the dot com boom. As one of the early employees of RealNetworks, Baker used her Georgetown University language arts education to good advantage to work her way from Administrative Assistant to Advertising Traffic Manager.
Recruited to Avenue A (an Internet advertising company), Baker spent one year as a client strategist before deciding that her personal mission included working toward economic parity for women.
Throughout the early years of her career, Baker was well-known as an advocate for women in high tech. Her involvement with the technology industry inspired her to become a founding director of DigitalEve International, an organization with the goal of promoting women’s participation in technology careers.
While Baker’s participation on the board of DigitalEve was satisfying, DigitalEve was a volunteer-run organization and Baker’s contributions were unpaid. She was still searching for a salaried position that would be congruent with her personal mission to improve the economic well-being of women.
While watching the television show The West Wing, Baker experienced an epiphany. She wanted to work in politics. She announced to her husband, “I have to do this.” While pondering her options, Baker wondered if perhaps she could find a place for herself on the staff of Senator Maria Cantwell, another former RealNetworks employee who won a seat in Congress to represent the State of Washington. Baker was still in touch with RealNetworks colleagues, and one of them delivered her resume to Senator Cantwell’s office.
Because of a limited budget for recruiting, Senator Cantwell’s office invited Baker to interview at her own expense if she was going to be in the Washington, D.C. area soon. Baker booked a ticket. After proving via a test that she had excellent writing skills (using that liberal arts education!), Baker interviewed with Senator Cantwell’s Chief of Staff. During the interview, Baker and the interviewer discovered that they both spoke Russian and both had previously lived in Russia. In addition, Baker found an opportunity to mention in the interview that she spoke fluent Icelandic and French, and she has a background in Greek, Scottish-Gaelic, Chinese, Latin, and American Sign Language.
Baker landed a job as a legislative correspondent. In this role, Baker responded to constituent inquiries, helped to create policy, and handled a variety of administrative responsibilities for Senator Cantwell. Baker's networking career advice: “Having a network doesn’t mean that you have to spend evenings out doing cocktails and schmoozing. It can be as simple as staying in touch with friends from past jobs. You never know when your old office mate could be your biggest champion.”
2023 Update: Anne Baker is now a Foreign Service Officer, Diplomat with the U.S. Department of State.
Networking Success Story #2: Fabienne Mouton - A Career Consultant Makes a Cross-Continent Move
To accompany her Microsoft employee husband, Fabienne Mouton moved from her native France to the United States. Mouton had worked as a career consultant in France, but as she arrived in her new home country, she faced dual challenges as she did not know the English language and her H4 visa did not permit her to work in the U.S.
Mouton decided that her first priorities were to complete some type of education or certification in career development from a U.S. school, to become acquainted with local career development professionals, and to gain experience even if she had to do so as an unpaid volunteer.
Mouton began conducting information interviews, and someone mentioned to her that the University of Washington offered a career development certification program. Despite already having finished computer science and psychology degrees in France, Mouton enrolled in the program.
Another contact recommended that she join the Puget Sound Career Development Association, a professional association that would enable Mouton to meet other career development professionals. Mouton eventually became the president-elect for the organization. Finally, to gain some practical experience, Mouton began volunteering in the mornings at Lake Washington Technical College and in the afternoons at Bellevue College. By doing career advising, job search coaching, and resume writing, Mouton quickly improved her English speaking and writing skills. She also used her extensive computer skills to master computerized career search and electronic resume writing.
All the investment of time and energy paid off for Mouton. Once she secured a work permit, she landed several offers for paid full-time work. Mouton accepted a part-time career advisor position with Bellevue College, and a second position to assist trailing Microsoft spouses.
Mouton's networking career advice, “My experience can help people to understand that everything is possible when you are determined and you follow a step-by-step career goal plan. Networking is the most powerful way to find work or to realize career goals. It works really well when you focus, and your message is clear and concise so that people can understand who you are and what type of work you want.”
2023 Update: Fabienne Baker is now Associate Director Corporate Outreach — Career & Employment Programs, Bellevue College.
Networking Success Story #3: Teresa Goertz - From Financial Services to Technical Writing
When Teresa Goertz moved to Seattle from Vancouver, British Columbia, the only person she knew was her soon-to-be husband. Having spent 13 years in the financial services field, Goertz was ready for a change. She wanted to launch a new career, and she knew it would not be easy.
Goertz chose technical writing because she considered writing to be her “true calling.” Hurdles to overcome included the facts that Goertz had written nothing professionally, and she had little technical experience. To build her skills, Goertz signed up for a technical writing certification program at Bellevue College. She also signed up for a technical editing program. She completed both certifications in 13 months.
While she was gaining skills in school, Goertz knew she needed to contact professionals in the field. She joined the Puget Sound chapter of the Society for Technical Communications (STC). Because she had some previous background in marketing, she volunteered as the public relations chair for one of their regional conferences. STC also recruited her to be a judge for their annual writing competition.
The woman heading both the conference and the competition worked for a consumer product group at Microsoft. After working with Goertz at Society events, the woman hired Goertz for a two-week trial as a contractor in a user education group at Microsoft. Goertz stayed for a year until she hit the IRS-mandated 100-day break in service requirement, and her manager could not secure permission to hire her for a permanent position.
It was back to networking for Goertz. The president of the local chapter of STC ran her own consulting firm, so Goertz approached her and landed a two-month contract as a writer. This contract led to others, and Goertz developed a career niche as a technical communicator working in a variety of capacities. In addition to writing, Goertz also offered strategic planning and marketing using skills she gained from her previous work experiences. Goertz's networking advice, "After 18 months, I was earning 58% more per hour than when I started my new career. Some experience pays off!"
2023 Update: Teresa Goertz is now Senior Content Strategist/Architect (consulting to Agilent Technologies).
Networking Success Story #4: Jo Johnson - From Theater Stage Management to Software Project Management
Jo Johnson had always dreamed of leading a romantic life with a career in the theater. She pursued her dream and lived the life she loved for many years.
However, at 30, Johnson was married, and she felt her theater career was better suited for single persons or those willing to live with little pay and with the ability to move at a moment’s notice.
Although she still loved the theater, she began to long for roots, better pay, and the freedom to go on dates with her husband on Friday nights.
Johnson blanketed Seattle with her resume and cover letters. She received a cool reception from corporate hiring managers, discovering that her experience in the theater and her master's degree in stage management did not generate interest in hiring her. Johnson’s husband was working as a temp at Adobe Systems, so Johnson connected with a recruiter there. She sought a temp position as a project manager for a marketing program, and she landed the job. After a short time, the company converted the temp job into a contract job.
Once in the job, Johnson concluded that her work as a stage manager was very similar to the work as a project manager. She explained, “In the theater, a stage manager tracks actors, directors, designers, props, Electrics, costumes, and schedules. In the software industry, a project manager tracks engineers, marketers, designers, artists, developers, public relations, quality assurance, schedules, and many bits, bytes, and details." Eventually, the company promoted Johnson into a permanent position at Adobe. Later, another software company recruited her to be a project manager with even more responsibility.
Johnson's networking advice, “What it really took to make this career shift was a lot of patience! I also had to get over my fear of talking to people and really networking. Through both of my careers, I have landed all my jobs through contacts with other people. Through my life, I think I have gotten only one or two interviews from a resume sent out cold. My personal experience rings true to the saying, ‘It's not what you know, it's who you know.’ The ‘what’ really counts when you get in the door, but the ‘who’ is the most important aspect of getting it opened.”
2023 Update: Jo Johnson is now Executive Producer at MODE Studios.
Do you have a question about networking or a networking success story to share with me? Please contact me.
